CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A mesothelioma sufferer has standing to pursue, and the court has jurisdiction over, claims that an employer and its insurer are not making timely payments under North Carolina's workers' compensation statutes, a federal judge in North Carolina held Sept. 9 (James Norman Richardson v. PCS Phosphate Company Inc., et al., No. 16-00068, W.D. N.C; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122354).

PHILADELPHIA - Evidence that a company would sometimes reuse original asbestos-containing insulation does not save claims based on exposure arising from turbines, but sufficient evidence exists to allow claims based on exposure from switchgears, a Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals panel held Sept. 13 (In re: Asbestos Products Liability Litigation, Linnie Frankenberger v. CBS Corp., No. 15-1988, 3rd Cir.).

NEW YORK - A New York federal judge on Sept. 7 denied an insured's motion to dismiss an insurer's suit seeking a coverage declaration for underlying suits arising out of the insured's fracking operations because the policy at issue includes a forum selection clause designating New York as the forum to litigate any disputes (Certain Underwriters at Lloyd's, London v. New Dominion LLC, No. 16-5005, S.D. N.Y.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 121133).

NEW ORLEANS - A federal judge in Louisiana on Sept. 7 ruled that three workers who were onboard an oyster harvesting boat that got caught on anchors left behind following response actions to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico following the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig can pursue claims for negligence under maritime law, finding that their claims are not preempted by the Clean Water Act (CWA) and not covered by the economic and property damages settlement (Brian Winkler, et al. v. BP Exploration & Production Inc., No. 16-2715, E.D. La.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 120541).

PHILADELPHIA - A federal judge in Pennsylvania on Aug. 30 granted in part a motion for summary judgment filed by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PaDEP), ruling that the purchaser of a contaminated site can be held liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Pennsylvania's Hazardous Site Cleanup Act (HSCA) for response costs incurred after it took ownership of the property (Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection v. Trainer Custom Chemical LLC, et al., No. 15-1232, E.D. Pa.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 116139).

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Two New York state officials on Aug. 30 sent a letter to the director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, seeking reimbursement for some of the $25 million in costs already incurred, and the additional $50 million projected to be spent, in the remediation of groundwater that was contaminated with perfluorooctanoic acid (also known as C8) in Hoosick Falls, N.Y., because the agency was "counterproductive" in the process.

BUFFALO, N.Y. - All claims by the State of New York alleging that two Indian enterprises are running a contraband cigarette ring that illegally brings millions of dollars' worth of cigarettes into New York from Canada should be dismissed because the state fails to plausibly allege that the companies violated federal laws, a federal magistrate judge recommended Aug. 30 (State of New York v. Grand River Enterprises Six Nations, Ltd., et al., No. 14-cv-910, W.D. N.Y.; 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 117801).

NEW YORK - United Parcel Service Inc. on Aug. 29 asked a federal judge in New York to bar the State of New York and New York City from presenting the amount of damages they are seeking against it in an upcoming cigarette trafficking trial (The State of New York, et al. v. United Parcel Service Inc., No. 15-cv-1136, S.D. N.Y.).